The Whirlpool Journey
by NatsuLucyLover
Summary: FemNaru. She left her village to become stronger, not to make friends with four boys but that was okay for Naru. It was okay because her new friends gave her more reasons to become stronger because Naru Uzumaki would do everything in her power to protect her friends and with friends like Gon and Killua, she knew she had to do whatever it took to protect them.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I know I shouldn't keep creating new stories but this had been in my mind for a few days now.**

* * *

When Naru Uzumaki was twelve, she made the biggest decision in her life.

She made this decision as soon as she recovered from her wounds inflicted by Sasuke. As soon as she could move without wincing in pain and saw that most of her friends had recovered from the attack, she decided to leave the village. She wanted to see the countries outside the Elemental Countries, she wanted to travel the world that the merchants used to talk about. There were countries just waiting to be discovered, countries filled with so much more potential and perhaps she would get stronger if she went there.

If she wanted to bring back her best friend, she needed to become a lot stronger.

So in the middle of the night when everyone in the hospital was asleep, Naru sneaked out of the hospital and went to her apartment. She stuffed her backpack filled with her emergency stash of food along with some spare clothes before scribbling down letters to her friends. She knew they would worry if they couldn't find her and knew they might jump to the worse conclusion about what happened to her. Besides, if she said goodbyes to them face to face then they would try to stop her and tell her she could become stronger in the village.

They would not understand the journey she had to make.

So she left the letters on their doorsteps before walking out of the village gates with a backpack in hand. It wasn't the final time she was going to see the village, she would remind herself as she made the journey towards the nearest port that would send her to the first port outside of the Elemental Nations. In three years she would come back home and bring Sasuke back to the village. Everything would go back to the way it was after three years.

Though Naru knew in her heart that nothing was ever going to go back the way it was before because no one was ever going to trust Sasuke after what he did. No one would blame the hickey mark on Sasuke's neck and they might call her insane to bring him back home but Naru was going to keep her promise to Sakura.

It took her a while to find a boat travelling outside the Elemental Nations but when she did find it, Naru wasted no time to sneak into the boat. She didn't know where the boat was going exactly until three days into the journey she heard the sailors talk about going to Whale Island to deliver them some food. When she heard the name of the port, Naru wanted to laugh but held herself back. If she laughed out loud then she would be discovered by these sailors and then they might force her out of the boat before they got out of the Elemental Nations, so she bit her lips until the sailors were gone.

She spent two weeks in the boat, two terrible weeks where the only things she could eat was her wonderful ramen in a small crater with nothing to do but think about her plans. She brought a limited amount of money with her in this journey of hers and Naru didn't know if the people outside of the Elemental Nations accepted her country's currency.

It was two weeks into her journey that the boat finally stopped rocking. At first, Naru hadn't thought much of it until she heard the sound of something hitting the ground and the cries of the sailor crying out land, telling her they had made their destination. So without a second thought, Naru pushed herself out of the crater, breathed in the air and waited till all the sailors were gone before rushing out of the boat to see where she landed.

The first thing which came to Naru's mind when she saw the port was the town was smaller then how the merchants described the cities outside of the Elemental Nations. The second thing she noticed was the fact the people here didn't give her any weird looks if anything they would give her a smile before going back to their work. The third thing which came to her mind was what was she going to do with her life now that she was out of the Elemental Nations.

She knew the merchants talked about the countries being more dangerous but looking around, Naru didn't see how this small island could be dangerous. In fact, it didn't look like it could give her a good adventure or give her good training.

Naru's thoughts were interrupted when she heard the gasps of the people around her. Blinking her eyes, Naru watched as a boy around her age came walking in the streets with a fish four his size on his shoulder. For a civilian the boy was strong, Naru thought, watching as he dropped the fish in front of a pretty orange-haired woman, who looked defeated at the sight of the huge fish.

"Even with five men, we weren't able to catch the pond's master!" A man said, looking at the huge fish in awe.

The old man beside him nodded his head. "I've fished here for ten years, and I thought we would never see it."

The boy beamed at everyone's words, smiling ear to ear as people continued to talk about his achievement. Almost everyone in the crowd was praising him with the only people not giving him compliments was the pretty orange-haired woman who stared at the fish in annoyance. The boy didn't look put out, seeming to be fishing something out of his pockets and grinned even wider when he pulled out a card from his pockets, waving it in front of the woman.

What the hell was going on?

"I fished the pond's master like I promised!" The boy said, handing the woman the card. "Your turn to keep your promise, Mito-san!"

A man laughed and shook his head at the irritated orange-haired woman. "Let him pass this exam!"

"Yeah!" Another man added, smiling widely. "I'm sure Gon will be a very good hunter!"

The woman Mito glared, put her hands on her hips and growled at the two men. "Pay attention to what you say!"

Naru laughed when she saw the two men smiled sheepishly at the young woman before turning their back away from her. The people around them shook their heads before muttering under their breaths about how they were idiots to make a comment in front of the woman. From what Naru could see, the woman was very protective of the boy if she didn't want him to do some kind of exam.

"She's right," The boy said, grinning. "Words are important and wasn't it you, Mito-san that taught me to always keep my promises? Wasn't it?"

The young woman looked defeated at his words and without a second word, the woman snatched the card and started to walk away from the crowd with the black-haired boy trailing behind her. Why didn't she want the boy to do an exam? It was just a paper exam, right? There was no way he could do an exam like chunin exams could he? After all, civilians couldn't do those exams, right? She glanced at the disappearing crowds and then to the disappearing figure of the boy before finally deciding to ask the people of this town in the exam.

Smiling widely, Naru walked to one of the men and tugged their shirt's sleeves. The man turned around, blinked his eyes at the sight of her before giving her a smile.

"How can I help you?"

"What did you mean by Hunter?" The man blinked his eyes at her. "And why doesn't that lady want him to do some exam to become a hunter?"

The man gazed long and hard at her before shaking his head. "I've no idea why Mito-san doesn't want Gon to be a hunter, it's in his blood to become one but then again there're rumors about the Hunter Exams killing people. Knowing Mito-san, she probably doesn't want to see Gon get hurt."

"But what is so dangerous about being a Hunter? They just hunt animals don't they?" Naru asked, furrowing her eyebrows at them.

The man chuckled at her words. "A hunter is a job where they hunt for anything that can be hunted. Hunters hunt not just animals but people and even valuable things as well as information. There are some rumors that hunters have access to information that no human can get. Still becoming a hunter isn't easy, you need to be strong to become one."

"How strong are we talking about?"

"Strong enough to survive the trials of the Hunter Exam," the man answered, gazing at the clear blue sky. "If those rumors are true then if a person isn't careful in those exams then there's a chance they could die...it isn't an easy exam."

If those exams were as hard as the man claimed to be then Naru wanted to join the exams. This might be a way she could get stronger and if what the man said was true then she could get information on long lost techniques without getting into trouble. She licked her cracked lips and wondered if she should take the risk of joining these exams. If she wanted to become stronger then she should take the risk of getting hurt. Maybe, these exams could push her to her limits especially since she wouldn't have her teammates to help her in these exams.

"Do y'know where the Hunter Exams are going to be?"

"Kid, are you crazy? I just told you that these exams could get you killed and you still want to join it? You're just as insane as Gon."

The blonde grinned at him. "Don't judge me! I might look small but I have a mean punch!"

The man stared at her and shook his head before saying, "Was I like this in your age? I can't believe I'm telling you this but the Hunter Exams are rumored to be taking place in Zaban City."

"And how do I get there?"

"There's a boat heading towards Dolle Harbour," The man answered, pointing towards the biggest boat in the harbour.

Staring at the big boat, Naru thought of her promise to Sakura and then back to her fight against Sasuke. If she had been stronger, she would have been able to bring her best friend back home. The only way to bring back her best friend was to break every bone in his body and show him her beliefs was stronger than any stupid idea he ever had. If she wanted to fulfill her promise and have her team go back to being the way it was before, she was going to take a risk.

These exams might be her first step to becoming a stronger person.

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 **A/N: Please review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** I want to thank everyone who reviewed as well as to everyone who added this story to their favourites and follows.

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Looking at the huge crowds of people on the ship's deck, Naru couldn't help but wonder if she made the right decision to do the Hunter Exams. Almost everyone in this ship looked weak and she wasn't saying this because she was a shinobi but she could barely feel any energy from the people surrounding her. No one in this room looked as if they could give her a good fight, which was a disappointment since Naru didn't come here to stay at the same level. No, she came here so she could become stronger.

If she wanted to bring Sasuke back home then she needed to become stronger than he was. If she wanted her team to go back to the way it was then she needed to become so strong that Sasuke would regret his decision of leaving the village for Orochimaru. Kami, what was the boy thinking going with that perverted snake? Did he really think Orochimaru would really make him stronger? Naru wasn't a genius but even she knew Sasuke could have gotten stronger if he stayed in the village.

Sometimes, Naru wondered what went through her best friend's mind.

Shaking her head, she took a seat on the ground and looked up at the clear blue sky, where the clouds trailed after each other. Looking at the clouds, reminded her of all the times she used to sneak out of class with Shikamaru to go to the field, where they would lie down on the grass and just stare at the sky. Shikamaru must be doing that now, Naru thought to herself, releasing a yawn. She never understood how the boy could just lay still and stare at the clouds but as she stared at the clouds, she realized just how relaxing it was.

When she returned back home, Naru would make sure to join the boy whenever he was watching the clouds.

Nodding, Naru watched as the white fluffy clouds drifted away from the ship. She frowned when she noticed the new set of clouds were darker then the ones before and were not as orderly as its fellow clouds. There was also a distinct lack of birds whizzing through the air, which was very strange if you asked her. No matter what the season was, there would always be birds in the sky. The only time she knew there were no birds were the days when the weather was getting worse or so she heard the sailors say whenever they asked one of their own on how they could be so certain there was going to be a storm coming.

Taking in a deep breath, Naru furrowed her eyebrows as the smell of compost-filled her nose. With a number of times she had been suddenly hit by the rain, the blonde knew when the air started to smell funny that there was a storm coming. It took her a good five years to figure it out and even then she didn't even realize it until her journey to the port. If she hadn't asked that old man how he knew there was a storm coming, she wouldn't have figure out what the hell was happening.

Smiling widely, Naru pushed herself up and slowly made her way towards the corridors leading to the cabins. Opening the first cabin's door, the blue-eyed girl wrinkled her nose and pulled a face at the sight of the dust in the cabin as well as the number of sleeping sailors. The last thing she wanted was to stay in a room filled with sailors who could yell at her for being in their cabin while they slept. Nodding her head, she made her way to the next cabin where there was practically no one in the cabin.

Lying down on the hammock, Naru gazed out of the window where she could see her fellow participants head towards the corridors leading to the cabins. How many people could become Hunter? She wondered as she gazed at the swaying lamps. Was it really hard for people to become a Hunter? The man in the island told her people die in those exams. If people die in those exams then did it mean it was just like the chunnin exams or was it even harder? Naru hoped it was harder.

She didn't care about becoming a hunter but she did want to become stronger. She needed to be strong enough to drag her best friend back home to their team. The next time she saw Sasuke, she wasn't even going to give him a chance to hurt her like that. This time around, Naru was going to drag the older boy back even if it meant she had to break every single bone in his body.

No matter what he said, Sasuke was still a part of her family and Naru didn't abandon her family.

Smiling widely at the thought, Naru focused her chakra to her butt as the ship jerked. If this boat kept moving like this, there was no chance in hell she could sleep in peace without landing on someone's lap. Pouting, she looked at her fellow participants who were slowly turning green as the ship kept jerking forward. Naru laughed at their expressions, earning glares from the men, before looking out at the window.

It wouldn't be long before she becomes stronger than Sasuke, Naru thought as she stared out at the sky, and when that day happened she was going to rub it in her best friend's face.

Yeah, she couldn't wait to see his expression when he realized just how much stronger she became.

* * *

So many participants but only so few of them could survive this small storm, the Captain thought to himself as he watched so many of the participants vomited their food out into the buckets his crew prepared for them. He sneered when he heard a few participants crying out for their mother. None of them had the stomach of a hunter, he thought to himself as he made his way to the last cabin in his search to weed out for potential Hunter Exam participants.

Opening the door, the Captain pulled a face at the sight of the men moaning in pain as his ship was hit by another huge wave. He nearly closed the door but the sight of a blond-haired girl jumping out of the hammock drew his attention. Leaning against the door, the Captain watched as the blonde made her way towards the sick people, asking them if they wanted her to bring anything. What made the girl decide to help those men now? He wondered, watching as the girl scrunched her face as she tried to look for a bucket for these men.

It didn't matter to him, the Captain thought, the girl could survive this storm which meant she had the potential to survive the Hunter Exams.

He blinked his eyes as he suddenly noticed a blond-haired boy sleeping peacefully in another hammock. His eyes widened when he noticed a man wearing a business suit was chucking at a comic while a black-haired boy rushed pass him, bringing in the herbs he kept for his crewmembers who got seasick during weathers like these. That boy, the Captin thought as he stared at the boy's face, looked a lot like a boy who was on this same ship twenty years ago.

Could it be that boy was his son?

"Looks like there're a few who aren't complete weaklings," he declared to his crew, pressing his hands into his pockets, chuckling as the blond-haired girl gave him a wild smile as if to tell him she heard everything he said and agreed with him.

"Captain?"

"Tell your fellow crew members to bring out the boats," he ordered his crew member, watching as another man vomitted into his bucket. "Everyone who is seasick is disqualified from the exams. Anyone who could get sick from a simple storm like this doesn't even deserve to become Hunters."

His crew members hesistated but did as he said, rushing out of the corridor to give out his orders. Out of the two hundred people in his boat, only four people seemed to have survived the boat ride without one hint of discomfort. It could mean two things for him. It either meant those people have guts stronger then nails or their will to continue in these exams were stronger than any discomfort they felt. If it was first they needed to prove to him they deserve to be here but if it was the second then they more then deserve to go to those exams.

"What do ya want me to do boss?" A crew member asked, snapping him from his train of thought.

The Captain gazed at the four healthy partcipants and then to his crew members before barking out, "See those four kids? I want you to bring to the control deck and prepare a boat for them if I deemed them unsuitable for these exams."

"You're even going to test those two kids?" His crew member questioned, gazing at the two kids with shock. "Captain, are you sure that's a good idea? They're just kids...they aren't going to survive in these exams."

"Don't let kids fool ya brat," he informed them, putting a cigratte into his mouth. "They're people younger than you but stronger than you or are hell lot more smarter than they look. Besides...from my experience, kids seem to do better in these exams. Now call them to the control room and clear this cabin out of these pathetic fools!"

"Y-Yes, Sir."

These exams might just be the most interesting one just yet, the Captain thought, as he made his way towards the control room.

The question was, did these people deserve to be in these exams?

* * *

Staring into the beady eyes of the ship's captain, Naru couldn't help but wonder why the middle-aged man ordered his crew members to bring her here with three other people. She hadn't caused any trouble in this boat and tried her hardest not to touch anything in the boat that wasn't a herb or food so why would he call her out here with these three people? She glanced at the three people standing beside her, who all but one looked annoyed at what was happening.

The short boy beside her just looked excited at what was happening, which was just weird if you asked her.

"So it just the four of you now in this boat," The captain barked as soon as he noticed the four of them were standing in front of him. He flickered his eyes to her, then to the short boy beside her before looking at the last two. "Give me your names first."

"Call me Leorio," The tallest man said, giving them a cocky smirk.

"My name is Kurapika," her fellow blonde said, looking so serious that Naru was tempted to pinch the boy into smiling. She hated people who looked so serious all the time and the guy right beside her looked as serious as Neji, which was something since Naru never thought she would meet someone as serious as Hinata's cousin.

"I'm Uzumaki Naru, nice to meet ya Captain," Naru said, giving the middle-aged man a smile.

The Captain nodded, stared so intently at the four of them that Naru was nearly tempted to look away from him but Naru Uzumaki wasn't going to let the man knew he frightened her. She didn't want him to think she was scared of him but the fact he was staring at her like he was trying to figure out what was in her soul scared the crap out of her. No one ever looked at her like that, the worst stare she ever had was whenever the parents used to glare at her for trying to talk to their kids.

Sometimes those glares just made her want to curl into a small ball and hide.

"Why did the four of ya want to become hunters? What are your reasons?" The Captain asked, leaning against the wall.

Leorio frowned and narrowed his eyes at him. "Why do you ask such a question? Are you the interviewer or something?"

"Answer me," The Captain growled.

"I want to become stronger," Naru answered, stopping Leorio in his tracks. Running her hand through her hair, she smiled at the middle-aged man as the memories of the fun times she had with her team rushed through her mind. "I want to become strong enough to bring back my teammate and I heard from someone the Hunter Exams were hard so I thought it would be perfect training."

"Why the Hunter Exams? Why didn't you ask someone to train you?" The Captain asked her, raising his eyebrows at her. "The Hunter Exams are no joke kid, ya could lose your life in these exams. Is that teammate of yours worth it? Are you that willing to risk your life for this teammate?"

"I want to become stronger and the only way for me to become stronger is if I take the risk, if someone trained me then I won't be risking my life to get stronger," she answered, "And my teammate is worth it! He's my best friend and I'm willing to do anything to get him back home even risk my life for it! If it means I've to scarifice my life to have him go back home then I'll do it."

"Ya one insane girl."

The two men beside her nodded their head in agreement with the captain while the black-haired boy just stared at her with curiosity as if he never heard someone say these things before. She shook her head, grinned at the middle-aged man, before flickering her eyes at the other three, waiting for them to tell this strange captain on their reasons for being here.

"I want to know what kind of job my father has been captivated by," the black-haired boy finally said, smiling broadly at the captain.

The tall man looked at the little boy in disbelief and then looked at her as if she was an idiot. Naru crossed her arms and scowled at him. This man barely knew her and already he stared at her, in the same way, some of the teachers would stare at her whenever she got a simple question wrong. It was annoying. She wasn't dumb. She just thought things in a different way! That didn't make her dumb.

"How can the two of you give your answer so freely?" Leorio asked, pointing at them. "You don't answer like that."

The blonde blinked her eyes. "It isn't going to hurt me if I tell him my reasons. It's just a harmless question, anyone would ask ya a question like that if they want to know why ya doing it."

"She's right," Gon said, giving her a smile.

Leorio shook his head, gazed at the captain and finally said. "I don't wish to reveal why I'm here."

"I agree with Leorio," Kurapika said.

"Hey you," Leorio growled, earning raised eyebrows from Naru and Gon. "How old are you to be saying my name like that?"

Kurapika ignored him. "It's easy to pretend to tell the truth to avoid questions you don't want to answer however I also think lying is one of the most shameful acts possible."

If she said she understood every word Kurapika said then Naru would be a liar. She had no idea what the older teen was trying to say but she understood he didn't want to talk about it for some reason. Why did these two didn't want to give their reasons? The middle-aged man didn't look like he would hurt them if they gave them the wrong answer. She tilted her head and just frowned before shrugging her shoulders.

Adult men were weird that was what she learnt today.

"But for me to disclose my true reasons to someone I just met isn't something I can do," Kurapika continued, earning a raised eyebrow from the captain. "The reason for my wanting to become a Hunter is related to a matter that is just too personal. Therefore, I cannot answer that question here."

"...Am I the only one who didn't understand what he just said?" Naru asked.

Gon raised his hand, smiling widely at her and Naru couldn't help but smile wide at him. It was good to know she wasn't the only one who didn't understand a damn thing Kurapika said. It meant she wasn't that slow when understanding people's words, it just meant she was acting her age. Now she could say to everyone in the village to suck it because she was just acting her age. Now she could finally say, everyone in their village don't act like her age.

In second thoughts, she shouldn't say it.

"Oh? Is that so?" The Captain sneered, narrowing his eyes at the two men. "Then you two must get off this ship immediately!"

"Who are you to tell us that!" Leorio yelled.

"Don't you get it?" The captain said dryly, jerking his fingers at them and then to himself. "The Hunter Qualification Exam has already begun."

Naru couldn't help but gawk at the middle-aged man, who just laughed at her expression. Was he serious? She had never heard of an exam where they were being tested before they even reach the exam site. Not even the Chunin Exams were like that! Did that they mean they were going to be tested everywhere they were going? No, she could handle this. As long as they didn't give her a paper exam, she would be fine.

As long as there was nothing for her to write down, Naru would be more than happy with the exam.

"As you know, there're just too many of you wanting to become Hunters," The captain said once he finished laughing at them. "The examiners don't have enough time or the manpower to evaluate you. For that reason, people like me are hired to cut down the numbers. The others have been disqualified even if they did find an alternative route to the examination site, they'll be rejected."

In second thought, this exam might be just the thing she was searching for.

"I'm a survivor of the Kurata Clan," Kurapika said, drawing everyone's attention to him. "There's a group of bandits who massacred my tribe four years ago...I want to become a hunter to capture the Genei Ryodan."

From the Captain's alarm expression, Naru guessed those bandits were really famous and really dangerous. How dangerous were they? She wondered, flickering her eyes at the blond-haired boy, who stood there with emotionless eyes. Were they as dangerous as an S-class nin? Or were they weaker? They must be weaker, she decided. No civilian could be more dangerous than S-class ninjas.

"A blacklist hunter applicant eh," The Captain finally said, grabbing a bottle of rum from the table beside him. "The Genei Ryodan are A-class bounties even a veteran Hunter would have difficulty...you'll most likely get killed."

Kurapika's eyes hardened at the man's words. "I don't fear death. I only worry that my rage may dissipate."

"So to sum up everything, you want revenge," Leorio said, pulling a face. "Y'know that's something you can do without becoming a Hunter."

"People are willing to do anything to have revenge," Naru said softly, thinking back to her best-friends' actions towards her and everyone in their village. "But Leorio is right, revenge is something you can do without becoming a Hunter. How will becoming a Hunter help you in getting revenge?"

"The two of you are very ignorant," Naru narrowed her eyes at her fellow blonde, who just ignored her glare. "There're places you can't enter and information you can't obtain unless you're a Hunter. Don't you even know that?"

"Nope," she answered truthfully. "I only learnt about Hunters just a couple of hours ago."

Everyone blinked their eyes at her, looking at her as if she was crazy for not knowing about them and maybe she was but her village never talked about the outside world. The only times she heard about the outside world was whenever she overheard the merchants in the village talked about it or the few times she was able to get Jiraya to talk about his adventures outside the village. Not once did they ever mention about Hunters to her.

"So why did ya decide to become a Hunter if you only learnt about it just a couple of hours ago!" Leorio yelled.

The blonde frowned. "I told ya because I want to become stronger so I could save my best-friend. I heard from an old man on the island we just left that the Hunter Exams were hard so I decided if I want to become stronger then I'll just have to risk my life."

"You don't need to become a Hunter to save your friend!" Leorio yelled. "You can become stronger without becoming a Hunter!"

She crossed her arms. "I know that but I need to push myself to the limits and if this exam can make me break then I'm going to take it! This exam is going to be training for me. I need to get stronger and if this exam can make me stronger then I'm going to do it! If it helps me to become strong enough to save my best-friend then I'm willing to become a Hunter. If you could, wouldn't ya do anything to save a friend from making a stupid mistake?"

Leorio stared at her for a good long minute before looking away from her. He didn't have to say anything to her because Naru knew from the pain and understanding in his eyes that this man understood her feelings. Did Leorio lose someone close to him? He must have because only someone who understood her need to save her friend would look at her like that. Licking her dried lips, Naru gazed at her fellow participants.

"We heard from the others why they want to become Hunter, now it's your turn Leorio. Why did you come here?" The Captain asked, gulping down a good portion of his rum.

"Me? I don't wanna kiss your ass or anything so I'll just be honest," Leorio answered, grinning. "Money! If I have money, I'll be able to get my hands on everything! A huge mansion! Luxurious cars! The best wine!"

No one could deny he had a point, Naru thought as she remembered all the times the villagers charged her double the normal price for any nice vegetables or meat. If she had a lot of money then there would have been no point of her growing vegetables in the small patch of dirt behind her apartment. If she was rich then maybe everyone in the village would look at her like the way they used to look at Sasuke.

If she was rich then maybe she could finally move out of her crappy apartment and live on a nicer street.

"You can't buy character with money, Leorio," Kurapika said, closing his eyes in annoyance.

Leorio's eyebrows twitched at Kurapika's words and Naru couldn't blame the man for becoming furious with her fellow blonde. If Kurapika had said that to her, she would have punched the older boy for his insult. The guy must have never known what it was like to have no money in his pockets, Naru thought as she remembered the few times when she spent all her money on ramen. If you had no money then you couldn't even buy decent food.

"That's three strikes," Leorio said darkly, looking at Kurapika with so much fury that Naru was surprised he wasn't trying to kill the boy. "Let's take this outside Kurapika. I'll end the filthy bloodline of the Kurta Clan."

Now that was harsh, Naru thought, watching as Kurapika gazed at the older male with so much hatred that she was surprised he hadn't tried to kill the male for his insult. Those two were taking the insult too far if you asked Naru. She understood Kurapika insulted Leorio when he talked about his character but Leorio took it to a whole new level when he said he was going to destroy his clan.

Not even she would say these things to Sasuke and that bastard always made her want to throttle him.

"Take that back, Leorio."

Leorio gave the younger boy a frosty look. "You mean Leorio-san."

With those words, Leorio gestured for her fellow blonde to follow him outside to the deck. Naru stared at their disappearing backs and wondered if she should stop them from fighting. She didn't mind if those two fight, in fact, she would encourage it with how angry they were but they were in the middle of a storm. If those two took one wrong step then they might fall off the ship and into the freezing ocean.

Then again, a good fight might be just what they need to let out their frustration with each other.

"I'm not done talking punks!" The Captain yelled at their fading backs. "You expect to pass the Hunter Exams by ignoring me?"

"Let them be, sir," Gon said, drawing their attention to him.

"What?" The Captain asked.

Gon gave them a serious look and stared out at the window. "To know someone is to know what makes them angry that is what my Aunt Mito taught me and to me, the reasons why those two are angry are very important to I think it's better just to let them be."

"Sometimes, finding out what makes a person angry isn't the best way to find out about them," Naru said, wrinkling her nose. "Cuz when you make someone angry, it makes them a real asshole when they aren't really an asshole."

"But how do ya know that if you didn't make them angry?" Gon asked her, looking wide-eyed. "Don't you feel closer to that person once y'know what makes them angry? Didn't you and your best-friend always fight?"

"Of course, we did!" She said, scrunching her eyebrows together as she remembered the number of times they used to argue. "We argued every single day! The bastard always called me the dead-last and would do anything to make me want to hit him in the head."

"And you still consider him your best friend don't ya? Even after all the times you fight with him, the two of you are still the best of friends right."

When Gon put it in that way, she understood what he was getting at. Sasuke and her fought over everything, from the number of ramen bowls she ate to the plans they would make on how to capture Tora. They argued over every small detail but even then, she still consider him her best friend. He might do things which annoyed her, he might have nearly killed her but Sasuke was still her best friend.

He was the one person who knew her better than anyone in their village and the same went for her. She knew Sasuke like the back of her hand and she knew the boy was going to do something so bad that he was going to regret it.

"Captain!" A crew member yelled, drawing her attention to him. "The storm is approaching faster than we expected."

For a second, there was a tense silence as they processed the information the crew member had just told them. Once they realized what he had said, the Captain rushed out of the door, quickly followed by Gon and her. She didn't know how bad the storm was becoming but Naru did know she had to help them in this situation.

Her eyes widened when she noticed one of the younger crewmembers was being flung towards the sides of the boat. Without any hesitance, Naru ran towards the crewmember, making five clones to catch her in case she fell overboard. Everyone stopped what they were doing, gawking at the sight of the clones, before rushing to help her catch the man.

She grabbed hold of the man's hand, pulling him towards her as she felt someone grabbed her legs. Twisting her head back, Naru blinked her eyes at the sight of her clones pulling back with the help of Kurapika, Leorio and Gon. When did those two stop their fighting? And why was there only four clones? She knew she made five! So where was the fifth one? Did it even matter? She saved someone from dying.

"Are you alright, Naru?" Gon asked her as soon as they took the injured man from her arms.

Rubbing her head, Naru nodded. "Of course, I'm! Do ya think this storm can hurt me? If a little storm can beat me then you don't know a damn thing about Naru Uzumaki!"

"That little storm could have killed you, Naru!" Kurapika yelled, making the blonde gulp as the older boy came right up with her face while Leorio glowered at her. "How could you be so reckless as to jump in and save that man! Don't you care about your life? You could have died if you landed in the ocean!"

"If you didn't have those clones of yours and us grabbing your legs then you would have fallen into the ocean," Leorio yelled. "And what were you thinking of making them? One of your clones got popped when it hit someone! And how the hell do you make clones?"

Naru blinked her eyes, stared at the two older teens and laughed, causing Gon to laugh out loud with her. They blinked their eyes at her, which just made her laugh even harder. Just a couple of minutes ago, the two of them were fighting each other and now they were scolding her for trying to save someone. Those two made no sense, she thought to herself, tuning the boys as they scolded her for her actions.

This was the first time in her life that someone scolded her for nearly dying.

"Thanks for saving my ass," Naru finally said, grinning widely. "If my clones had popped while they were trying to save me then I woulda died...so thank you. As for the clones, I used chakra. "

"What the hell is chakra?" Leorio asked.

Kurapika frowned and shook his head. "I don't know...this is the first time I heard it. What is Chakra, Naru?"

Naru furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to figure out how to explain it to them. How did Sakura use to explain it to her? She furrowed her eyebrows before shrugging her shoulder. "I don't know how to explain it to ya but it's spirit energy and physical energy joined together...does that make sense?"

"No."

"I don't know how to explain it to ya," Naru admitted. "I never really paid attention to Iruka-sensei or Sakura-chan when they were explaining it to me."

"Does it matter how Naru made it? The two of you stopped fighting!" Gon declared, drawing their attention back to the important matter.

The two teens looked at each other and then to Gon before smiling at his two of them looked at each other before shaking each other's hands, apologizing to each other for their actions. She glanced at Gon, who just had a big smile on his face as he watched the two older males apologize to each other.

"See, I told ya they just need to fight it out didn't I?" Gon told her, giving her a smile.

She grinned. "Yes you did and you were right about it."

The sound of the Captain laughing drew her attention away from Gon and to the middle-aged man, who had a huge smile on his face as he gazed at them. He looked at the four of them in the amusement as if he found their actions amusing and maybe to an outsider it was but what just happened had been terrifying for her. Sweet Kami, she was never ever going to become a sailor especially if the boat was as dangerous as this.

"The four of you are really something," The Captain declared, grinning. "I'll make sure the four of you will reach the closest harbor to the examination site! You've my word."

Gon furrowed his eyebrows. "What about the exam?"

The middle-aged man shrugged his shoulders at him. "I'm happy so I forgot all about it."

Naru sighed in relief, slumping back down to the ground while Leorio and Kurapika sigh in relief at the middle-aged man's words. Gon just grinned before running after the middle-aged man, who declared he was going to teach Gon how to steer the boat. Naru couldn't help but laugh out loud at the man and the luck they had that the man decided to let them pass the exam.

This was the weirdest exam she had ever taken.

* * *

Tilting her head, Naru wondered if the old man had been drunk when he told Gon the direction on how to get to the exam site faster. The map showed the lone tree to be on the opposite side of their destination but the old man seemed so honest when he told Gon where they should go. She sat down on the ground, gazed at the map and then to Gon, who didn't look like he had any doubts on the man's words.

"That's weird," Leorio said, pointing to the tree on the map. "Look, the district of Zaban, where the exam site is located, is a big city that's even listed on the map so there's really no reason to head towards a mountain in the opposite direction. There's a bus going directly towards Zaban."

When Leorio put it in that way, it made no sense to go towards the trees but Naru didn't know why the old man would lie to them. He didn't have any bad intentions, Naru thought to herself as she remembered how the old man had been kind enough to give them extra-food for the journey. Besides, her instincts told her the man had been honest when he told Gon where to go.

If there was one thing Naru could count on, it was her instincts.

"...We might just end up wasting our time," Leorio continued.

Kurapika frowned. "Maybe, the Captain is mistaken."

"I'm still gonna go," Gon announced, smiling. "I'm certain there must've been a reason."

"I'm going to go with him," Naru declared, pushing herself up from the ground and followed Gon as he made his way towards the road heading to the tree. She was going to follow her instincts, Naru decided, putting her hands into her pockets as they head towards the empty road.

"Gon, Naru, you should learn to be somewhat suspicious of others," Leorio advised. "I recommend you take the bus."

"If I was suspicious of everyone I met then I'll be paranoid," Naru pointed out as they made a left turn. "Besides, I'm following my instincts and my instincts told me the old man wasn't lying to us."

"We might not have known each other for a long time but it was nice to know ya," Leorio declared as Gon and her walked away from him.

It was barely twenty minutes since the three of them left Leorio that the older male was back by their side. Naru furrowed her eyebrows at Leorio, who just shook his head and gave her a look that said if she even dared question him about his actions then he would make her life miserable. She would like to see him try to make her life miserable but Naru didn't want to cause any trouble between her and the others.

Shrugging her shoulder, Naru stared at the streets and frowned when she noticed a distinct lack of people. It felt like a ghost town in here, she thought to herself, straining her ear to hear any form of human life. She sighed in relief when she heard the pitter patter of people's feet as well as the scent of people in the buildings surrounding them. Okay, it wasn't a ghost town but there was something freaky happening around here.

"I don't like this place," Leorio declared. "It's like a ghost town."

"Yeah," Naru agreed, putting her hands into her pockets. "I just wonder why no one is coming out here to greet us."

"There's people in this town?" Leorio asked, blinking his eyes at her.

Naru nodded her head. "Yeah, I can hear people moving about in the buildings around us."

"From the rustling of their clothes, I think they're hiding," Gon added, making Leorio blink his eyes at the two kids.

"Don't lower your guard," Kurapika advised them as they continued to walk through the empty streets. Naru frowned but nodded her head at the older boy's words. She didn't know what was happening but she had a feeling things were just going to get more interesting now that they were in this place. Just how much more interesting? Naru didn't know but she hoped it was interesting enough that she didn't regret coming to this exam.

"How can you hear them?" Leorio asked, pushing his glasses up to the bridge of his nose as he tried to look for any sign of life.

"I've good hearing," Naru explained, shrugging her shoulder. "These people are really quiet even for me so I had to strain my ear to hear them...but I don't know about Gon or Kurapika."

Kurapika put his finger to his lips, signalling that the two of them had to stop talking. Taking a deep breath, Naru nodded her head and continued to follow behind Kurapika and Gon, occasionally glancing at the buildings around them. She blinked her eyes when she caught sight of people dressed in cloaks appearing out of the building. Her eyes widened when she realized they were surrounding the four of them.

"You fellas are heading towards the tree on the top of the mountain?" An elderly woman asked, walking pass the crowds of people surrounding them. "It's not possible to reach that point unless you pass through this town. The other paths up the mountains are labyrinths and on top of that, they're the territories of dangerous demon beasts. I'll present to you just one question and you only have five seconds to answer."

Great, just great, they were going to do a word quiz.

Why the hell couldn't they have a fight? She would definitely pass if they did a fighting exam.

"If you're wrong, you'll be immediately disqualified and you won't be able to take the Hunter Exams," the old lady informed them, making Naru groan at this.

Why couldn't she do an exam without wordplay?

"So this is another ordeal we must face if we wish to do the Hunter Exam," Kurapika mused as the old lady stared at the four of them with cold beady eyes.

"Answer with 1 or 2," The old lady continued, tapping her cane on the ground. "Any other answer and I'll consider them to be incorrect."

Leorio looked alarmed at her words. "Hey, wait a minute! All four of us will be asked just one question?" he pointed at Kurapika. "Then if he's wrong, I'll be disqualified too!"

"That's not possible," Kurapika dismissed. "The chances that the opposite is going to happen and that frightens me."

Naru stifled a laugh at his words while Gon laughed out loud at the two males. Those two could be the best of friends, she thought to herself as she remembered all the times Sasuke would say the same things to her. The bastard never had any confidence in her plans until he corrected a few minor details. Crossing her arms behind her head, she stared at the old lady.

"But that also means that only one of us has to get it right for all four of us to pass," Gon pointed out when he finished laughing. He rubbed his head as he admitted. "I'm not good with quizzes."

"You and me both," Naru admitted, gazing at the old lady with curiosity. "So it's a good thing too isn't it? I mean if one of us get the answer right then we pass...which is a win-win for everyone."

Leorio rubbed his head. "That makes sense too."

"Hey you! Gonna hurry up or what?" A man yelled, causing everyone to twist their body and turn around to look at the male. The man had shaggy black hair and beady black eyes which told Naru more than anything about the kind of man in front of her. She might be an idiot at times but Naru wasn't a complete idiot. She knew how to spot a cruel person from a mile away and this man had icy eyes. People who usually have icy eyes were usually evil and that was her rule of thumb.

"If you aren't feeling too confident, why don't you let me go first?" He asked, fixing his eyes on Gon as he gave them a smirk. "Sorry kid. I overheard what you said at the harbor."

The blonde shrugged her shoulders and eyed the man as he waited for everyone to make a decision on what to do. It didn't matter if the guy overheard them but what matter to Naru was what the man planned to do to them if he thought they got in their way. This man wasn't someone to trust that was what her instincts were telling her.

"So what's the deal?" The old lady asked, tapping her feet impatiently.

The blonde shrugged her shoulder. "I don't know about everyone else but I don't mind if he goes first."

"We'll let you go first," Leorio agreed.

The man smirked at their declaration, pushing them aside to meet the old lady. The old lady didn't look all too impress with the man's behaviour and to be honest, Naru didn't blame her since the man had the walk of an asshole. She hoped the question was hard for the bastard. She wanted to see the smirk on his face to be wiped away from his face.

"Your mother and girlfriend have been kidnapped by a couple of bandits, and you're only allowed to save one of them, who would you save?" The old lady asked, squinting her eyes at the male. " Number 1 is your mother and number 2 is your girlfriend."

Wasn't that a mean question to ask? Naru wondered, staring at the old woman with wide eyes. How could she ask such a deep question? She couldn't think of sacrificing someone to save another person's life. It was unthinkable but Naru knew from the amount of lectures Iruka used to give her that sometimes sacrifices had to be made but Naru didn't know who she would sacrifice to save another person's life.

She didn't know if she could even sacrifice her loved one to save another loved one.

"Number 1!" The man declared.

"What's the reason for your answer?" The old lady asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

The man smirked. "Obviously, I only have one mother in the world but I can always find a new girlfriend."

Could you? Naru wondered, staring wide-eyed at the man. She didn't have a mother and she might never ever had a boyfriend before but Naru doubt she could make a choice on who she would save. Why couldn't she give an easy question? Why couldn't she ask like who was the First Hokage? Or asked questions to do with Math...Naru could ace those types of question. Heck, even if she couldn't answer then Kurapika could answer it easily.

Her fellow blonde looked like a genius.

"You may go," The old lady said, waving the boy off to continue his path.

"This is bullshit," Leorio yelled, stomping his feet on the ground as he glared at the old lady. "What kind of messed up quiz is this? Stupid hag! These type of questions don't have a correct answer...it'll change from person to person. The judges and the ones who passed are all full of bullshit! I can't accept this."

The old lady just stared blankly at Leorio. "You're already too late. If you choose not to take the quiz then you'll be disqualified immediately. You'll lose the right to become a Hunter."

She couldn't be serious! Naru thought as Leorio gritted his teeth at the old woman. They should have the right to continue on even if they didn't want to take the quiz. How could she expect them to choose? She didn't have any parents but even she couldn't imagine sacrificing them for her boyfriend and the same went for her boyfriend. This wasn't a fair quiz. This was a quiz that made her imagine the worse case.

This was the kind of quiz that forced them to see the reality of the situation.

"Wait!" The old lady said, snapping her off her train of thought. "I won't allow you to say another word. I won't allow you to say unnecessary speech from right now on. Now answer! If you pick number one, you'll take the quiz and if you pick number 2, you won't take the quiz."

Naru raised her eyebrows and debated whether or not, she wanted to continue on the exam. If she wanted to continue on her journey to become stronger then she had to do this quiz but Naru didn't want to be forced to make a choice. Couldn't she be allowed to save both? She would rather die then have to pick to save one or the other.

"Number one!" Kurapika said, making the decision for all four of them.

The blond-haired boy tilted his head and gazed intensely at Leorio and her as if he was trying to send them an information. If the blonde thought she knew how to read his facial expression then he got the wrong person. Seriously, Naru didn't know what he was trying to tell her. If he wanted her to answer then he had another thing coming...she was going to keep her mouth shut because sometimes the best way to answer a question was to keep your mouth shut.

So, yes she was going to keep her mouth shut.

"Now here's the question," the old lady declared, waving her finger at them. "Both your son and daughter have been kidnapped but, you can only save one of them but who would you rescue? Number one is your son and number two is your daughter."

Who would she save if she had to make a choice? Those two would be her own flesh and blood. How could they make her choose between one or the other? Those kids were her family and to save only one family member wasn't alright with her but having one family member was better than none. It was something Naru knew from not having any family member in her life but...she still didn't want to make a choice.

"FIve," The woman said, beginning the countdown. "Four. Three…"

Naru glanced at Leorio and nearly yelled when she saw the older male had a piece of wood in his hand. Was he actually going to hit the old lady? She knew the hag was asking too much from them but it didn't mean the guy should beat up an old hag. Clenching her hands into a fist, Naru rushed towards the black-haired male and tackled him down to the ground, holding on to his arms to prevent him from hurting the old woman.

No matter how mean an old person was, it didn't mean he should try to hurt her.

"What the hell Naru! Let go of me! Let me hit the old hag!" Leorio yelled, struggling against her hold.

"Hell no!" Naru yelled, tightening her grip on him. "I know you're pissed off, heck I'm pissed off too but it doesn't mean you can hit the old hag. It won't make you any better than her!"

"I don't care if it makes me worse then the old hag!" Leorio yelled. "I'm going to take her head and send her to the exam site and tell them what the hell I think of them and their exams. If this is what it means to be a Hunter then I want nothing to do with this bullshit system."

"Do you really want to give up your chance?" Naru asked, blinking her eyes. "Do you really want to give up on your dream because of the damn system? Y'know you could change the system if you become in charge of them! You shouldn't give up on your dream because of her!"

"She's right," Kurapika said, drawing their attention to him. "We answered correctly Leorio!"

"Wait...a second, we answered correctly!" Both Leorio and Naru said, looking at him in disbelief.

Kurapika nodded his head. "Silence. That was the correct answer."

"I don't get it," Naru said, furrowing her eyebrows.

Her fellow blonde sighed and shook his head at her. "Leorio said it himself, there can't be a right answer. He was right. There is no correct answer but the rule is you can only answer one or two. So you can't say anything at all. There's only silence."

"But what about the guy from earlier?" Leorio asked, pointing in the direction at which the man left to.

"They just said he could 'go'," Kurapika pointed out, causing Naru to slap herself on the forehead for not realizing this earlier. "They didn't tell him he was correct."

"That makes sense," Naru admitted, smiling sheepishly at Kurapika as she let go of Leorio's arms. "So if the path he went wasn't the right path then what is? I can't see another way for us to go."

"That's a good question," Kurapika agreed, looking expectantly at the old woman. "I presume we're not going in the same direction since the path taken by the man earlier is filled with demon beasts."

"How do y'know if it's filled with them?" Naru couldn't help but ask her fellow blonde.

Kurapika smiled wearily. "I heard the man screamed a couple of minutes ago which meant he must have been most likely been attacked by a demon beast."

Naru paled at his words, causing the old woman to laugh at her while the other three males just shook their heads at her. Why did they act like she was being silly? This was the first time in her life, she had ever heard of demon beasts. Were they anything like the Kyuubi? Kami, she hoped not because Naru doubt she was strong enough to beat a demon that big. She might be cocky but Naru knew her limits and she definitely couldn't beat a demon.

"He's right," the old lady said once she was done laughing. "The true path is this way."

The blonde blinked her eyes as the people of this small town rushed towards the walls, pulling it apart to reveal a pathway. The pathway had always been right under their nose. If anyone of them had tried to answer the old lady's question then they would have been forced to go by the path the man had taken. She shivered as she realized just how close they might have been to death.

"Old hag, I'm sorry," Leorio finally said, bowing his head to the woman.

"There's nothing for you to be sorry about," the old woman said, waving his apologies off. "I do this job to meet people like you and that little girl over there. Promise me you'll work hard because I wish for you to become a good hunter."

Leorio flushed red in embarrassment and muttered. "Thanks."

With the path to the tree cleared, Naru couldn't help but feel excited as she thought of the new challenges the four of them were soon going to face.

If things kept going at this rate, she had no doubt that she wouldn't ever be bored again.

* * *

 **A/N:** Please review.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I want to thank everyone who added this story to their favourites and follows as well as to everyone who reviewed.**

* * *

Walking towards their destination, Naru couldn't help but think about her friends and of her home. Did they read her letters? Did they understand her need to leave the village? Were they angry with her with the way she left? She should have said her goodbyes in person but she didn't want to have any doubts when it came to leaving the only home she ever had. If she had seen her friends for one last time, she would have hesistated in leaving home and Naru didn't want to hesistate in her choice.

If she ever wanted to bring back her best friend then she needed to become strong enough to deal with any obstacle Orochimaru would throw her way. Besides, leaving the village would have been the best for her. When she was leaving the village, all Naru couldn't help but remember were the days before everything went to hell. The days where she would annoy the hell out of Sasuke, demanding Kakashi to take them to her favourite ramen stall and teasing Sakura for her crush on Sasuke.

She wanted to go back to those days so badly.

"Are you alright Naru?" Gon asked, tilting his head.

Blinking her eyes, Naru smiled widely at the young boy and answered. "Of course, I'm fine Gon, what makes you think something is wrong?"

"You look sad for some reason," Gon frowned. "Why are you sad Naru?"

"I'm not sad," Naru said, grinning. "Why would I be sad? I'm on the adventure of a lifetime Gon! This has to be one of the most exciting adventures I've ever been on Gon. It makes no sense for me to be sad, right Gon?"

The dark-haired boy grinned at her words and Naru was glad he believed her words. She didn't want the boy to worry about her when he wanted to pass these exams to find out why his father loved his job. She would blame herself if the boy didn't accomplish his dream. She wanted him to find out if this job was worth giving up a child for. Nodding her head, Naru kept a smile fixed on her face as she continued to walk to the path that would lead them to the navigators, who the old lady claimed would take them to the exam site if they liked them enough.

Naru was going to do whatever it took to make sure those navigators like them.

"Naru, why did your teammate leave?" Kurapika asked as they passed another sign which warned them about demon beasts. "You said on the ship you wanted to become stronger so you could bring your teammate back but you never told us why he left the first place. It's alright if you don't want to answer my question but I don't understand how does becoming stronger links towards you bringing back your teammate."

Naru grinned and rubbed the back of her neck as she thought of a way to explain it to them. "When you put it that way it doesn't make sense but my teammate ran away from the village to join a very bad man so that he could have revenge against the person who killed his clan. I understand he wants revenge but I didn't want him leaving the village the way he did...he's my teammate. He's apart of my family, do ya get what I mean? My team is my family and I don't like my family breaking apart."

Kurapika stared at her for a good couple of minutes before nodding his head at her. She wondered what was going through her fellow blonde's mind when she said this to him. Out of everyone in their small group, Naru couldn't read the blond male very well. Kurapika wanted revenge but unlike Sasuke, who was quite clear about his feelings towards everything else, Kurapika didn't show many emotions. It was quite weird if you ask her because people should show emotions.

It was never good to bottle your emotions up.

"How old was your teammate when he lost his clan?" Leorio asked, looking at her with curiosity.

Naru furrowed her eyebrows before answering, "We were eight when his whole clan was murdered."

"He lost his family so young," Leorio commented, causing Naru to wince at the reminder while Kurapika nodded his head. "It must have messed him up to know his whole family was murdered."

He didn't just know his whole family was murdered, Naru thought as they continued to walk through the path, her best friend witness the murder of his whole clan. It took just one day for her teammate from being a happy kid to a kid who only thought of revenge. Naru could still remember the day Sasuke came back from the hospital and how sullen his face was. All she could remember was that she wanted to comfort him, that she was glad there was someone else who was alone and the fact she wanted to be his friend but Naru didn't make that offer.

Till this day, Naru didn't know why she didn't do it then.

"It's gotten completely dark," Leorio said, snapping her from her train of thought. "The old lady said it would take us two hours to get there but god damn it, it has already been two hours!"

Naru nodded her head in agreement, bitting her lips to stop herself from shaking. She didn't want them to know she was afraid of the dark, of the fact she didn't feel comfortable in these woods. There was just something about these woods which just gave her the creeps but it might be the fact she could sense something wasn't right about this path. Kami, she was a ninja but she was still afraid of the woods.

"Another warning sign about demon beasts?" Leorio said, furrowing his eyebrows at the sign. He glanced at the three of them with curiosity and worry. "Do you think we'll ever make it to the exam site?"

"Don't know but I hope so," Naru answered, tilting her head at the warning signs. "They keep mentioning about demon beasts but what the hell are they?"

Licking his lips, Kurapika answered, "Naru, demon beasts are beasts which can change their own physical appearance and they're very much capable of using human speech."

"I see."

Well Naru didn't really see why they had to be warned about them every five meters but she couldn't very well tell that to Kurapika could she? She wished she had Sakura or Kakashi with her, at least, her teammate and teacher would use even more simple language with her. She wasn't dumb but Naru would admit, though only to herself, she wasn't all that smart too. There was a reason why she hated exams which involved some form of writing.

After another ten minutes of walking, Kurapika stopped, turned to look at them and declared. "I see the house."

Blinking her eyes, Naru looked away from the trees and stared at the path right in front of them. The house in front of them was a wooden house, just small enough for a small family to live in there in peace. There was nothing special about the house but there was something about the house that drew her attention, that made her want to explore it.

She glanced at Gon, who was calling out for Leorio to hurry up, and then to Kurapika, who just stared at the house with a troubled look on his face. Was there something not right about this place? Naru couldn't help but wonder as she gazed at the blond-haired male. It seemed all right if you asked her. There was no energy in this area which screamed murder so this place wasn't exactly dangerous.

It was just creepy that was all.

"It's quiet," Kurapika commented, breaking the silence between the four of them. "Are we the only applicants to arrive?"

"Looks like it," Naru stated, glancing at the forest around them. "I can't smell another human scent except for ours and I'm no genius but if I can't smell another human scent then it means we're the only ones here, right?"

Kurapika grimaced at her words while Leorio looked at them in confusion before walking towards the cabin door. He glanced at her and Gon before looking at the door, no doubt wanting one of them to knock the door but if he thought she was going to knock the door when things seemed fishy then he got another thing coming.

Shaking his head, Leorio pushed the door opened.

The first thing Naru noticed, it was the fact that the whole living room looked as if it had been trashed. The second thing she noticed was the fact that there was a big furry monster standing in front of her, clutching a young female by the neck. She felt her throat dried when she saw the helpless look on the young woman's face. What should she do? Should she go save the young woman? It was the right thing but she couldn't find the strength to move her body. Biting down on her lips, Naru gazed at the rest of the room, feeling her heart clench when she saw a young man struggling to help his wife.

Taking a deep breath, Naru forced herself to take a step forward. The beast growled at her but Naru gulped down her lump and forced herself to move forward. Clenching her hands into a fist, Naru rushed towards the beast with her fist swinging in the air, ignoring the cries of Leorio and the others, who finally processed what was happening to the woman. The beast smirked and ducked under her attack, rushing towards the door, throwing her friends to the side.

"Naru!" They yelled at her, glancing at her in shock as they pushed themselves back up in the ground. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Naru said, keeping her eyes at the fading figure of the monster. "You shouldn't worry about me. The woman got kidnapped by that ugly ass monster."

She glanced at the injured man and then to the opened door. Licking her dried lips, Naru rushed out of the door and into the dark, creepy woods. She was no doctor so she couldn't stay and heal the man but Naru was a shinobi. She knew how to fight and saving people was a part of her job description. There was no way she was going to let that woman get killed by that monster.

This was the only thought that rung through Naru's mind as she chased after the monster.

The beast twisted its head around, scowled at her before running faster than it ever did before. She smirked at the monster before grabbing a shuriken from her pouch, twirling it between her fingers before throwing it at the monster. The monster scowled at her and jumped down to the ground, narrowly missing her shuriken but if the monster thought it was safe then it had another thing coming.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naru yelled, putting her hands into a familiar hand seal.

Twenty clones appeared right in front of her and without a single word, all of them jumped down to the ground to tackle the monster. There was no way the monster could dodge her attacks now, she thought to herself, jumping down to the ground. It barely dodged her shuriken, which meant it couldn't be strong enough to dodge twenty copies of herself.

It won't be long before I save the woman, Naru thought to herself, as she ran after her clones and monster. She clenched her hands into a fist and placed herself into position as one of her clones slammed their fist against the monster's head. The monster flew towards the tree, dropping the woman to the ground and glared at her. Naru smiled widely at the monster. She glanced at the girl and blinked her eyes at the sight of Kurapika craddling the woman near his chest.

She raised her eyebrows when she caught sight of Gon standing in front of her with his hands clutching the fishing rod as if it was his life. She frowned and stared at the monster, who stared right at her as it rubbed its head. If the monster hadn't hurt the woman, maybe just maybe she would be sorry for hitting the monster but the monster hurt the woman and that wasn't something Naru was willing to forget.

The monster growled, twisted its body away and ran deeper into the forest, leaving her alone with Kurapika, Gon and the woman. She wanted to chase after it but there was no point of her chasing after the monster when it wasn't hurting anyone now. Besides, her instincts told her that the monster wasn't going to hurt anyone else now and Naru trusted her instincts.

"Wait!" Gon yelled, snapping her out of her train of thought.

Naru blinked her eyes and watched as Gon chased after the monster. Should she chase after Gon? No, Gon could handle himself. He might not be a shinobi and yes he was a civilian but, Naru had seen the fish the boy had caught and she knew no ordinary civilian could carry something that huge. Gon was strong so getting that monster wouldn't be a problem for him.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the twigs crunched and snapped, signalling to her that the three of them weren't alone in this part of the forest. She glanced at Kurapika, wondering if the boy heard the sound but Kurapika didn't look at her. Instead, he was gazing at the woman's hand as if he realized something that could change the world.

She wished she knew what he realized.

"Kurapika, Naru, are you alright?" Leorio yelled, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Kurapika looked away from the woman and stared at Leorio. "Yeah, the both of us are fine. Gon went after the demon beast."

Something wasn't right, Naru thought as she stared at Leorio. He didn't smell like that cheap cologne he insisted in wearing nor did he smell like the chocolate. No, the man smelled like the trees around them which wouldn't be so weird if she didn't know that no one could change their scent. She licked her dried lips and wondered what the hell was happening. Was it possible for someone to change their natural scent? These countries were different from her home so maybe it was possible.

" _That isn't the real one, you baka!_ " A grumpy voice yelled in her mind. " _I knew you were an idiot but I didn't think you were that stupid. How did I end up in a stupid container?_ "

She blinked her eyes as she realized that the Kyuubi was talking to her. Ever since her battle with Sasuke, she hadn't heard a single word from the demon inside of her, which wasn't unusual. Most of the time, she didn't talk to the monster and when she did, it usually said something to piss her off. What he just said just now was a prime example of the things he said to piss her off.

" _Shut up you stupid fox!"_ Naru growled. " _How am I suppose to know he wasn't the real one? For all I know, he could change his scent."_

" _Use your common sense, brat!_ " The Kyuubi snarled. " _No one can change their natural scent especially that weakling. He's the weakest link between the four of you! I swear I always end up with a stupid container._ "

" _Well, this stupid container could find a way to make your life hell."_

The Kyuubi shut up.

"Who are you?" Naru asked, causing Kurapika to blink his eyes. "You're not Leorio! You don't have his scent...you smell like the forest, which is a smell that Leorio doesn't have."

The fake Leorio stared at her for a good couple of seconds before changing its appearance to the demon beast that she hit earlier.

"You're smarter then you look," The demon beast commented. "And your sense of smell is amazing for a human."

"Thanks...I think."

The demon beast stared at her for a good couple of seconds and then at the female and then to Kurapika before disappearing into the shadows. She stared at Kurapika, who closed his eyes and took a deep breath before gazing darkly at the young woman in front of them. If she hadn't experienced Gaara's bloodlust or even Orochimaru's bloodlust then Naru would have been quivering at the amount of bloodlust that Kurapika had.

Did everyone who want revenge had huge amounts of bloodlust?

"Now let me ask you one question," Kurapika whispered darkly, pulling out his bokken at the woman. "What exactly are you?"

"Kurapika!" Naru yelled. "What the hell are you doing?"

"She's not who they claim her to be," Kurapika explained, narrowing his eyes at her. "The markings on her hands is not one that a married woman should have. Those markings belong to a woman who made an oath to remain celibate for the rest of their lives."

"Celibate?"

Kurapika sighed. "They made a vow never to have sex."

"Why didn't you just say that?"

The blond-haired male sighed and shook his head at her before gazing at the smirking woman in front of them. Naru stared at the woman and wondered if the four of them had been doing a test without knowing it. If they did then she was going to go find those assholes of examiners and yell at them for the unfairness that was this test. Of course, she would only do that if it turned out they hadn't passed.

"I'll explain everything once we get to the cabin," The woman explained, standing up. "Everyone should be done doing their duties now and it would be very problematic if we had to explain it three times."

Naru nodded her head and gazed up at the night sky, making a small prayer that the four of them had passed this stage of the exam because she didn't know what she would do with herself if they didn't pass the exams. These exams may be one of the few ways she could get stronger.

There was no way she could let herself fail these exams without becoming stronger.

* * *

Staring at the four candidates in front of them, Arata couldn't help but muse about the potential that the four candidates had shown. From what he had heard from his son, the tallest one of the group had given him the fastest first-aid he had ever seen and more accurately too. The blond-haired man was the most well-read one out of the four, having figured out his kids' fake relationship by knowing about other cultures. However, those two didn't hold a candle to the youngest two.

The blond-haired girl had been able to surprise him by making those clones appear, effectively distracting him from the hit she threw at him. Despite the idiotic look on her face, the girl had been able to make a very smart plan on how to save his daughter. It also didn't help the girl had been quite quick to realize he had disguised himself as her friend. It had been a long time since someone could distinguish him from humans. That girl had the potential to be a good hunter.

He nodded his head and gazed at the youngest boy of the group. He was the one that impressed him the most since he was able to tell the difference between his wife and him. The girl had been able to distinguish the fact he was not her friend but she hadn't been able to tell that he hadn't been the one to take his daughter away in the beginning. This was expected because only a very extraordinary human could tell him apart from his wife.

The young boy in front of them was just an example of a very extraordinary human.

"How many years has it been since we've met a human who could tell us apart?" His wife asked him, gazing at the black-haired boy in wonder. "It must have been nearly a hundred years now!"

"It's very exciting."

All the candidates, except for the young boy, stared at them in confusion before shuffling closer to each other, flickering their eyes to him and then to his wife before looking at their friend. He could see from the furrowed eyebrows in those three candidates' faces that there was some confusion but Arata didn't know what those three could be confused about.

"The one Naru hit was the husband," The boy explained, rubbing the back of his neck. "I hit the wife."

"Um, Gon? We can't tell the difference," The blond-haired girl said, frowning. "We can't tell the difference between them."

Gon blinked his eyes and pointed at him. "Oops. Sorry Naru, that guy is the husband."

The girl, Naru, nodded her head and smiled at him. Arata gave the blond-haired girl a smile and looked at her forehead, where he noticed a headband tied around her head. Didn't that headband belonged to one of the ninja villages in the Elemental Countries? It had been nearly ten years since he last been in the Elemental Countries but Arata could still remember distinctly how people were able to tell the difference between a ninja and a civilian by the headband they wore.

So they had a shinobi in their midst?

These exams might become even more interesting with a shinobi from the Elemental Countries taking part.

"I'm sure all four of you have realised by now that we're the navigators,' His wife said, elbowing his chest. Arata winced at his wife, who just shook her head at him, before giving the four potential candidates a nod.

His daughter gave everyone a smile and rolled up her sleeves, revealing the fake tattoos they drew on her for this small test they had given. The young girl stared at the tattoos with wonder while Gon and the tall men stared at it with confusion.

"Using his impressive knowledge to catch even the subtlest hints, Kurapika-dono figured out that my brother and I weren't a couple," His daughter declared, giggling when the girl and two boys made a face at her words. "This tattoo belongs to the women of the ancient Sumi Tribe. It symbolises the oath to remain a virgin for the rest of my life as strictly the wife of god. Only someone with extensive knowledge of ancient history would figure it out."

"Leorio-dono could not figure out my identity in the end," His son informed them, gesturing at the tall man. "However, the first aid he administered was faster and more accurate than even a doctor and beyond anything else, he continued to console me and encourage me when I was worrying about the safety of my wife."

"Naru-dono showed remarkable thinking skills," he said, smiling at the young blonde, who looked at him in shock. "In order to make me let go of the woman, she used her clones to distract me and hit me while I was trying to figure out which one of them was real. She also showed great observational skills, having figured out quite quickly that I wasn't Leorio-dono however, she had not realised I wasn't the original person who took the girl."

The blonde smiled widely at him before giving a high-five to Gon.

"Gon-dono just like Naru-dono posses superhuman athleticism and observational skills, having distinguished my wife from me," he praised.

The boy grinned at him before looking at the blue-eyed girl, who gave him a thumbs up. Naru grinned widely before swinging her arms around the two men in front of her, who looked startled at her sudden public display of affection. Arata didn't know how long those four known each other but Arata knew from staring at those four that those four were going to be somebody.

"The four of you pass the test," He informed them. "We'll guide you to the exam hall."

Naru smiled even wider and yelled. "Yes! We pass! Did ya hear that guys? We pass the test!"

Arata couldn't help but smile as he watched the little girl tackle the three boys to the ground, giving them hugs as she yelled out their verdict for the whole world to hear. Those four might have passed their test but those four had a long way before they could become hunters. After all, it was very unlikely for the four of them to pass the exam at their current level.

Although he had those beliefs, Arata also knew that there was also a chance those four could pass these exams in their first time.

* * *

Zaban City had to be the biggest city Naru had ever seen.

Everywhere she turned, Naru could find buildings that were at least twice the size of the Hokage Tower. The city also seemed to lack plant life because it was hard for her to find a tree to climb or even flowers to smell, which was weird for her because Naru was so used to seeing plants everywhere she turned. The city also had so many happy people, who would give her a smile whenever she looked at them, and had so much cheap food that Naru was tempted to buy every single thing in the market.

"Do you think we've enough time for me climb one of those buildings?" Naru asked Kurapika.

Kurapika sweat-dropped and shook his head. "No, Naru I don't think we've enough time for you to do that and even if we did have enough time, I advice you not to do that."

"Why?"

"One wrong move Naru and you'll die," Leorio answered, shaking his head. "You'll be insane if you want to climb one of those skyscrapers."

"I won't die if I fall from the skyscraper," Naru informed him as their guide lead them through an empty street. "My body can handle a lot of things, falling from a skyscraper won't be enough to kill me."

Leorio frowned, stared at her and asked. "Are you even human?"

"Of course, I'm human!' Naru snapped, earning a smile from Kurapika and Gon. "Why wouldn't I be human?"

"A normal human can't survive a fall from a skyscraper," Leorio explained.

Naru blinked her eyes and frowned at him. A normal human can't survive a fall from a tall building? Was that really true? It must be true because not everyone was trained to become a ninja like her. It would make sense for people like Leorio not to survive a fall from a really tall building but they were still normal people. Shinobis were still considered normal human even if they could survive a fall from a really tall building.

"It must be the building over there," the Kirko said, pointing to the tall building that stood across them.

Naru blinked her eyes at the sight of the tall building in front of them. Could that building really hold so many people? She asked herself as she watched so many people go in and out of the building. It was so big but Naru had her doubts about whether or not the exams were going to be dangerous because the building looked so harmless that it was impossible for her to believe the exams were going to be that harmful.

"People from all over the world are gathered here," Leorio muttered, gazing at the building in wonder.

"This is where all the potential hunters are gathered," Kurapika said, staring wide-eyed at the building.

Naru nodded her head and touched her headband on her forehead. Finally, they had reached the exam site. She was now just one step closer to becoming stronger and maybe just one step closer to bringing back her teammate back home. She was going to bring him back home and make him apologize for everything he made them went through. Before she bring him back home, though, Naru had to apologize to her friends in the way she left them.

No matter how she looked at it, it wasn't nice of her just to leave a letter on why she left home.

"Hey! Not that one," the Kirko said. "The exam site is on the right side of the tall building."

He gestured towards the small resturant which stood on the right side of the tall building. The Kirko shook his head and laughed as Leorio and Kurapika gazed at the restaurant in shock. Naru just blinked her eyes and wondered if the demon beast was actually serious when he said that the exam site was over there. She couldn't believe the tall building could hold so many people, now the demon beast expected her to believe that tiny restaurant could hold so many people?

She was an idiot but she wasn't that stupid.

"No matter how I look at it, it's just a normal restaurant," Kurapika said, sweat-dropping at the sight of the restaurant.

"Navi-san, this is a joke, right? You're telling us that all the hunter prospects from the entire world are gathered here?" Leorio yelled, swinging his arms around as he gazed at their navigator with anger.

The navigator smiled. "That's exactly what I'm saying. No one would expect the Hunter Exams, which expects millions of applicants, to be in a place like this would they?"

When he put it in that way, Naru could see his point but still Naru didn't know how such a small building could hold so many applicants from all around the world. She sighed and shook her head as the five of them entered the restaurant. Naru couldn't overthink this because whether she liked it or not, she had no control over where the exams could take place.

"Welcome!" The cook said, grinning at them. "What would you like to eat?"

"The steak meal," The navigator answered.

The man's smile dropped at his answer. "How would you like it cooked?"

"Slowly over a weak flame," the Navigator answered, smiling widely at him.

"Follow me to your room," The waitress said, drawing their attention to her. Naru grinned and placed her hands into her pockets as the five of them followed the woman to their room, which would lead them to the exams. Were they the first people to arrive at the exams? Or were they the last? Naru wished someone could give them some indication of whether or not they were the last ones to arrive or not.

The five of them stopped walking once they reached the other side of the restaurant. The waitress gave them a small smile before opening a door, which revealed a room filled with food that was being slowly cooked. Giving the woman a small smile, Naru thanked the woman before rushing to take a seat in front of the table. Without giving a second look at her friends, Naru started to pile the meat onto her plate.

"Y'know you act as if you haven't seen food for a really long time," Leorio commented, taking a seat beside her.

Naru smiled. "We've been eating shitty food for the past few weeks! This meat doesn't look like it was bad meat so why shouldn't I take advantage of eating it?"

"Yes, Naru but it doesn't mean you can take so much food," Kurapika informed her. "You might get fat if you eat so much food in one seating."

"But if I do exercise then I won't get fat," Naru pointed out to them.

"Mito-san says the same thing to me. She always tells me that doing exercise won't cause anyone to become fat," Gon agreed, causing Naru to grin at him.

"1 out of 10,000," The Navigator said, drawing their attention back to him.

"What does that mean?" Naru asked.

"That's the probability of making it to the room," The Navigator explained, walking towards the door. "The four of you have done very well for beginners. Good luck rookies. We'll be more than happy to guide you guys next year too."

"That was rude," Leorio said, shoving the food into his own plate. "He talked as if he knew we wouldn't pass this year."

Naru shrugged her shoulder. "Why should we care what he thinks? I know we're going to pass these exams! And when that happens, we could rub it in his face that we did better than he expected."

Kurapika sighed and shook his head at them. "One every three years."

"One every three years? What does that mean?"

"It's the probability of a rookie passing the exam or so they say," Kurapika explained, taking a small bite of the steak. "Among the beginners, they say some go insane from the cruelty of the exam while some become incapacitated from the heckling of the veteran examinees."

It seemed similar in the Chunnin Exams in that sense, Naru thought to herself, taking a bite of the steak. It was rare for someone to become a chunnin in their first try, which could be seen by how the only person in their year group to become a chunin was Shikamaru. Then again, when Shikamaru was announced to get promoted, Naru hadn't been surprised since her friend was the smartest person she knew.

The only problem Shikamaru had was his laziness.

"Why do people go through so much suffering to become a hunter?" Gon asked, gulping down his steak.

"I don't know why but I know why I would go through so much trouble," Naru declared, taking a sip of her soda. "I would do anything to get back my teammate even if it meant I've to suffer through these exams because he means that much to me."

"Ever since we met, you kept talking about bringing your teammate back home," Gon said, tilting his head. "If he left you guys because he wants to then why are you trying to force him back home?"

Naru smiled. "He's my family Gon and I also don't want to see him get hurt. If he stays with that perverted snake then I know he'll get hurt."

There were so many reasons why she wanted to bring Sasuke back home but the answer she gave Gon was her top two reasons why she needed to bring him back. If they had more time then Naru would give her new friend a whole rant on why she wanted to bring him back. She also couldn't find the right words which could describe her need for her to have Sasuke by her life.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt the ground hitting something. She blinked her eyes and walked towards the door while Leorio and Kurapika argued over the benefits of being a Hunter. Shaking her head, Naru opened the doors and step out of the room with the others not far behind her.

So many people were here that was the first thing which came into Naru's mind as she stared at the enormous crowd in front of her. All of those people were here to become hunters just like Gon and the others but, Naru knew from what Kurapika told her that not all of them were going to become a hunter. How many of them were going to become Hunters? She didn't know the answer but Naru knew she was going to pass these exams even if it killed her.

She was going to get stronger even if it killed her.

"It's rather dark," Leorio commented. "It looks like an underground passage way."

"It does, doesn't it?" Naru asked, tilting her head. "It kinda makes sense since they need a place which is big enough that can handle so many people."

Gon nodded his head and looked around the area before asking, "How many people do you think is in this place?"

"I don't know...maybe three hundred?" Naru suggested, looking at the crowds of people with curiosity. "I just know it's way more then hundred."

"It's actually four hundred and six with you four included," A man said, drawing her attention away from Gon and up at the pipes. The man was a very short and fat man with a cube-shaped nose. He smiled widely at them but there was something about the man that made her distrust him. It was wrong of her to distrust him and it wasn't like her but something told her that she shouldn't trust him.

"I'm Tonpa," The man said, jumping down to the ground. "I'm pleased to meet you."

Naru smiled at the man. "It's nice to meet you Tonpa."

"You're new to these exams, aren't you?" Tonpa asked.

Gon nodded. "How did you know that?"

"Of course, I know," Tonpa said, smiling widely at them. "I have been doing these exams since I was ten years old."

"And how old are you now?" Naru asked, tilting her head.

"Forty-five."

There was no way in hell she was going to do these exams until she was old as him, Naru thought to herself as her friends made a face at his revealation. Heck, she was going to do the chunnin exams once she came back from these countires because there was no way Naru was going to let herself remain a genin. Honestly, it would be embarrassing if she became a Hokage without moving up in the level.

"Do you know everybody here?" Gon asked, snapping her from her train of thought.

"Of course! Let me introduce you to everyone," Tonpa said, giving them a smile. "Number 103, Barbon the snake tamer. He's extremely tenacious and it'll be a pain if you make him your enemy. Number 76, Cherry the martial artist. He's unsurpassed when it comes to hand-to-hand combat. Number 255: Todo the Wrestler, he has incredible strength and while he may not look like it, Todo is very intelligent. Numbers 197-199 are the Amori brothers. They always perform well with their impressive combination plays. Number 384: Hunter Gereta. He can capture any kind of beast with his arrows and club. These guys come here almost every year and they're highly skilled but they barely missed the cut."

Naru doubted she could remember all that information Tonpa had given them but it was nice to know that the man would give them information when they asked for it.

"AHHHH!"

Twisting her body around, Naru was greeted by the sight of seeing a man waving his handless arms for everyone to see. She felt her heart clenched in pain as the man cried out in pain while another man just stood there with a smile on his face. That smiling man was the scariest one out of everyone in the room if you asked Naru. Everything about the man screamed danger, from the way his eyes were stilted to the way he carried himself told her more then everything that she must never get on that man's bad side.

She wanted to fight him.

"Damn it, we got the dangerous one again this time," Tonpa said, snapping her from her train of thought. "Number 44, Hisoka the Magician. He would have passed last year, but he was disqualified for nearly killing an examiner, who was getting on his nerves."

Leorio paled at his words. "And he was still able to come this year and openly take the exam?"

"Of course," Tonpa said, grimacing. "The examiners of the Hunter Exams change every year and the contents of the exams are decided by the examiners as well. If the examiner of that particular year says 'pass' then even the devil could pass the exams. Aside from the examiners, Hisoka also injured 20 other examinees. It'll be wise if you stay away from him if you can."

She should stay away from Hisoka but Naru had a thirst to prove herself and maybe, fighting Hisoka would be enough for her to quench her thirst. He was dangerous and if Naru wanted to save her best friend then she needed to fight as many strong people as she could. Hisoka was strong. He wasn't as strong as Orochimaru or Itachi but he was still going to be a challenge for her.

She could feel it in her bone.

"Naru, are you going to take one?" Tonpa asked, snapping her from her train of thought.

Naru blinked her eyes and stared at the drink in Tonpa's hand. She glanced at her friends, noticing the fact that all three of them held a drink in their hands. It wouldn't hurt her if she took one? But Kurapika mentioned how sometimes the senior veteran examinees would hurt the rookies in these exams and while Tonpa had been nothing but nice to them, Naru wasn't sure if she could take the chance of drinking his offering.

It seemed like she didn't need to make that choice because before she could take the drink, Gon spits the drink out of his mouth. She raised her eyebrows at her friends but he just gave her a smile before looking at his own drink with a frown.

"Tonpa-san, this juice must be old!" Gon declared, handing his drink back to the man. "It tastes weird."

Kurapika and Leorio threw their drinks in the nearest trash can while Tonpa stared at Gon in shock, wonder and another emotion that Naru couldn't figure out. If there was one thing she could be certain, though, it was the fact that no one here could be trusted.

The only people she could trust are herself, Gon, Leorio and Kurapika.

* * *

 **A/N: Please tell me what you think of this chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter as well as to everyone who added this story to their favourites and follows.**

* * *

Naru couldn't help but sway as she waited for the exams to start. She wanted to run around, to go ask the people around them when the exams would start but Naru couldn't find a friendly face who she could ask. She shook her head, glanced at Kurapika and Leorio and slumped her shoulders when she saw they were too busy looking everyone in the area with suspicion and whispering to each other about something.

She would ask Gon but he was too busy comforting Tonpa, who looked so lost at what just happened. She felt her heart clenched when she saw him say sorry, looking so sad and lost at what just happened. She wanted to rub the man's shoulder, tell him that everything was fine but there was something about the man that made her skin crawl. There was something about the man which screamed vile but Naru didn't understand what it was.

Rubbing the back of her neck, Naru looked around the room and stopped when she caught sight of a silver-haired boy walking casually with a skateboard in his hands. He stood out to her, not because of his hair colour or the fact he was the only kid besides her and Gonin these exams. No, he stood out to her because he was the only one in the room smiling and walking in the room without a care in the world.

She stared at him for a good couple of seconds before looking back at her friends.

"Naru, what are you looking at?" Gon asked her, tilting his head at her.

She smiled. "I saw another kid doing the exams."

"Really? Where is he?" Gon asked, looking around the hall with wonder. "I can't see him Naru!"

Naru grinned, swung her arms around the boy and said. "You will see him Gon after all he's the only shorty besides you and me….except he's taller than me!"

"But everyone is taller than you, Naru," Gon said, blinking his eyes at her.

She blinked her eyes at his question and clenched her hands into a fist. "I'm not that short Gon! There're people who are shorter than me...it's not my fault that everyone here is all so freakishly tall."

Gon frowned and tilted his head at her while Leorio and Kurapika both had a small smile on their faces as they shook their heads at her. She pouted and crossed her arms at them. Her friends laughed even harder. She slumped her shoulders and wondered for the first time in her life if her parents had been short for their age like her.

She hoped they were because she could blame them for her height.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a heavy hand on her head. Blinking her eyes, she looked up and was taken back by the wide smile on Leorio's face.

"Y'know Naru, one day you'll be happy you're short," Leorio said, grinning wildly. "If you were taller than most guys, it won't be easy for you to find a boyfriend when you're older and it'll be a waste if a cute little girl like you don't find someone."

Naru blanched. "Why would I want to find a boyfriend? I'm going to be the best kunoichi in the whole world Leorio, boys are the last thing in my mind."

"You're twelve, of course you say that," Leorio said, earning a nod from Kurapika and furrowed eyebrows from Gon. "I'll be worried if you actually like someone. Twelve-years-old is too young to date."

"Really? Sakura kept asking Sasuke for dates and Ino did the same thing too," Naru said, blinking her eyes.

Leorio paled at his words before looking at Kurapika, who just pursed his lips at her words and made a face that told her more than anything what he thought about what she said. Gon just blinked his eyes, shrugged his shoulders before giving her a big smile. At least one of her friends didn't find it weird that there were girls her age who liked guys right now. Maybe, she was the only weird one who didn't look guys in that way.

Really, guys were just like them so why should they squeal at them?

 _BRIIIIINNNNNGGG!_

Naru winced and put her hands into her ears. She looked around the area and blinked her eyes when she caught sight of a tall man with lavender hair standing right in front of the whole crowd. _How the hell can he eat without a mouth?_ That was Naru's first thought as she stared at the tall man, who gazed at everyone in the room with a blank expression.

"Now this concludes the registeration," The man finally said when everyone stopped talking and his alarm stopped ringing. "And we'll now commence the Hunter Exams."

The man twisted his body towards the tunnel, gestured at it and said. "Please come this way."

Naru glanced at her friends and then to everyone, who all nodded their heads and followed the tall man. Weren't they curious to know about what the first exam was before they follow the man? She frowned and shook her head before walking beside Gon and the others in the direction the man wanted them to go. If no one was going to ask then maybe it was nothing to worry about.

Besides, the man was going to tell them what was the first exam right?

"I'll confirm one more time," the man said, swinging his arms as everyone picked up the slight increase of pace. "The Hunter Exams is extremely difficult, so whether it was because of unfortunate luck or a lack of skills, you can get hurt or even die. And there has been numerous instances where examinees have been made incapacitated by other examinees but if this doesn't matter to you then please do follow me."

Naru didn't know about Gon or the others but she wasn't going to stop following the man to their exam because she could die from this exam. If she wanted to become the best then she needed to take the risk. If she wanted her team to go back to the way it was before Orochimaru came then she was going to do this exam. Nothing in the world was going to stop her from doing these exams.

Putting her hands into her jacket's sleeves, Naru continued to follow the tall man. She glanced around and noticed that no one had stopped walking and turned back. It seemed like her fellow contestants were just like her; they weren't going to let the fear of death from doing these exams. She curled her lips into a grin. One of her fellow examinees could give her the fight of a lifetime.

Just the thought made her want to smile.

"Understood," Their examiner said, twisting his head around to give them what was supposed to be an impressed look but failed because Naru couldn't tell if he was actually impressed because of his lack of mouth. Honestly, reading this guy was difficult for her because of his lack of mouth. "All 405 applicants will participate in the first Hunter Exam."

Leorio glanced around at their fellow examinnees and made a face. "Like I thought, not a single person is going to chicken out. I was kinda hoping for a few."

"I didn't want anyone to chicken out," Naru admitted, smiling nervously at Leorio, who made a face at her. "I want to fight someone really strong and it woulda be a waste if a strong person chickened out because they're scared."

"Then they won't be strong if they chicken out," Leorio said dryly, making Naru frown at him. "Why would a strong person chicken out from these exams? They would be too arrogant to think they can't do it."

Tilting her head, Naru furrowed her eyebrows and asked, "But they could still be strong even if they chicken out right? I mean if they care for their life then wouldn't it make sense for them to drop out?"

Even though she said this, Naru couldn't see herself dropping out of these exams. Even if she didn't want to save Sasuke or become stronger, Naru would still continue on these exams because she didn't give up when things got hard. Even though she was risking her life for these exams, Naru would still do these exams just because she hated the idea of giving up.

"A more sensible person would do as Naru says," Kurapika said, drawing their attention to him. "If they only came here because they thought it was a game or if they truly care for their life then they would give up the moment they have a chance."

Leorio curled his lips at Kurapika's words while Naru smiled widely at the blond-haired boy, who gave her a small smile. She glanced at Gon, who just stared at the three of them in confusion but Naru just shrugged her shoulders and gave her friend a smile. He returned her smile before looking straight ahead at the examiner, who seemed to be picking up his pace.

Naru blinked her eyes at this realisation.

Shit, she actually needed to up her speed if she wanted to remain in these exams. Now she had to run slightly faster than her civilian speed if she wanted to keep up with this man because there was no way she could run at her full speed when she didn't know where to go. Heck, she didn't know where they were going or how far they were going to run.

Not that it mattered because she could run for days without a break but Naru doubt her friends or fellow examinees were like her.

"I forgot to introduce myself," The examiner declared as everyone started to run to catch up with the man. "My name is Satotsu and I'm the examiner of the first exam. I'll be escorting you to the second exam site so please do not lose sight of me."

She stared at her fellow examinees, who all frowned and furrowed their eyebrows at their tall examiner, before glancing at their examiner, who seemed relatively calm at what he just declared. He didn't tell them what their first exam was but expected them to follow him. Was this a trick? Because if it was then Naru hated the man since she didn't do well with tricks. There was a reason why she didn't do well in genjutsu and it wasn't just because of her bad chakra control.

"The second exam? What about our first exam?" One of the examinees yelled, running after the man.

Still walking, Satotsu twisted his head around and gave them a look that Naru could only describe as being amused. "To follow me to the second exam site is the first exam. I can't disclose the destination or low long it would take for us to reach there, which leaves you no choice but to follow me."

"I see," Kurapika said, making a face.

"What do you mean you see?" Naru asked, tilting her head.

Her fellow blonde pulled a face and answered. "This exam can be considered a psychological burden as we don't know how far we have to go as a result, this test doesn't just test our endurance but also a test of our mental strength."

Yup, she didn't understand a damn thing Kurapika said but Naru had an idea what he was trying to say to her. This portion of the exam wasn't going to be easy was what he was trying to tell her because this is an exam where they have to continue running with no indication of when to stop. She didn't care about her mental strength but she wanted to see if she could struggle running in this exam.

 _You had nothing in the first place! What the hell do you understand about me? Huh?_

Those words haunted her mind and even though Naru tried her hardest to push them in the back of her mind, she could still remember the cold look in Sasuke's eyes. She didn't understand his pain of losing his family but Naru understood loneliness and despite what Sasuke said, despite the people surrounding him, Naru knew Sasuke was just as lonely as her. She knew him better than anyone in their team and that was why she wanted to bring him back.

She couldn't let him suffer anymore and going to Orochimaru would make him suffer.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she caught sight of the same silver-haired boy she saw earlier skating pass them. She blinked and tilted her head before shrugging her shoulders at him. Were skateboards even allowed in the exams? Did it even matter? She could care less about what the boy did though she wanted to try his skateboard. For as long as she could remember, Naru wanted to use one but never had the money to afford it since it cost more money then all of her savings put together.

Maybe once the exam was over, she would ask him if she could try it.

"Hey kid! That's not fair!" Leorio yelled, pointing his finger at the silver-haired boy. "You're cheating! Hey! Did anyone taught you to respect your elders! You shouldn't skate away when I'm talking to you!"

"How come?" The boy asked, twisting his body to look at them.

"Whaddya mean how come?" Leorio snarled. "This is a test of endurance?"

Kurapika said one thing and Leorio say another thing, which made Naru wonder what the hell she was going to believe in.

Gon frowned and pointed out. "But you're wrong Leorio. The examiner said just to follow him."

"Gon! Who's side are you on?" Leorio yelled, swinging his arm in the air.

"He's on no one's side," Naru answered, furrowing her eyebrows. "Gon just repeated what the examiner just said. The examiner never said anything about not using transportation. It isn't cheating if he never told us don't use a skateboard."

"Naru is right Leorio," Kurapika agreed, shaking his head at Leorio. "As long as you don't cheat, this test allows you to use anything you want. Also don't waste your stamina like that so to perserve it please shut up."

That's a polite way of telling somone to shut up, Naru thought, smiling as Leorio gritted his teeth at Kurapika's words. Maybe, she should try Kurapika's way of telling people off. If she acted polite then no one would actually realize she was being rude or if they did then they couldn't exactly tell her off because it didn't exactly sounded rude. Why the hell didn't she think of that? It would have saved her the trouble of hearing Sakura yell at her for being rude to Sasuke even though he was acting like a jerk to her.

Right when she got back home, she was going to try Kurapika's way.

"Hey how old are you?" Naru blinked her eyes and twisted her head around to see the silver-haired boy staring at her.

Naru tilted her head and glanced at Gon, who gave her a smile, and then to the silver-haired boy before answering, "I'm twelve years old."

He nodded, stared at her up and down with his eyes lingering at her bright orange jacket and her whisker cheeks before shrugging his shoulders at her. Strange, Naru thought, flickering her eyes at Leorio and Kurapika. Why did he ask her such a strange question? She didn't mind people asking her about her age but it came out of the blue. Maybe he didn't know what her age was, that did happen to her before. She knew her body was slightly more mature than all the girls her age.

It was a fact Sakura hated but Naru envied her teammate for not having a mature body just yet.

"What's your name Whiskers?" The boy asked, snapping her from her train of thought. "I'm Killua."

"Naru...Naru Uzumaki," Naru answered, giving him a smile. "Nice to meet ya, Killua."

He blinked his eyes at her, looking almost taken back by her smile and Naru wondered why the boy looked so surprise at the fact she smiled. What kind of life did he have for him to look so surprise? Hadn't he seen people smile before? Heck, Gon smiled a lot so he should be used to it since Naru knew damn well the boy had been talking to Gon before talking to her.

"Ossan, what's your name?" Killua asked, glancing at Leorio.

Leorio's eyebrows twitched at Killua's comment. "Ossan? I might not look like my age but I'm still a teenager!"

Naru stopped running and stared at the older male with wide eyes. A teenager? Leorio? But he looked so old, Naru thought, glancing at Gon and Killua, who blinked their eyes at him. Kakashi-sensei looked even younger than him and her sensei was old compared to her. Heck, she could count a handful of people who looked like they were in their teens and Leorio wasn't one of them.

She hoped when she got older that no one would think she was an old lady when she was a teenager.

"You're kidding right?" Killua and Gon asked, blinking their eyes at him.

"I can understand Killua but Gon! That's just so cruel," Leorio yelled, swinging his suitcase at them. "At least Naru here believes me when I said I'm a teenager…" Naru looked away and whistled, causing the older teen to slump his shoulders at her. "Not you too, Naru! I'm not friends with either you two anymore!"

Naru frowned. "That's not fair! You can't blame us for thinking you're an old man when you dress like that!"

Gon and Killua nodded their heads in agreement. Leorio pulled a face and shook his head at them, giving them a hurt look before picking up the pace. She frowned and shrugged her shoulders before glancing at Gon, who just furrowed his eyebrows and gave her a smile before picking up the pace. She grinned and started to speed up. There was no way she was going to let Gon beat her in picking up the pace.

She wasn't going to let him beat her.

"Does Naru stand for something?" Killua asked, snapping her from her train of thought. "And why are you doing the Hunter Exams? Shouldn't you be playing with your dolls or whatever girls do?"

Did he just tell her she should play dolls? She wondered, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at the silver-haired boy. Did she look like the kind of girl who liked playing with those things? Even when she was in the orphanage, she didn't even try to play with the dolls that the Hokage brought for her to play. Kami, she hated the dolls especially with how fake they look.

She didn't understand how her female classmates could play with them.

"No, my name is Naru Uzumaki and that's it," Naru answered, glaring at the boy. "And as for why I'm doing these exams well it definitely isn't because I want to play with some stupid ass doll. Kami, do you think all girls play with dolls? Ya never heard of a girl who hates those things?"

"I thought all girls play with dolls," Killua said, scowling.

She rolled her eyes and scowled. "Well, not all girls plays with dolls. I like training, getting into fights and playing ninjas more than playing with some stupid dolls."

"Playing ninja?" Gon asked, tilting his head. "What's that? I never heard of that game."

Naru grinned widely as she remembered the days when she would play the game with Shikamaru, Choji and Kiba. "It's a game that we used to play a lot in our village," she explained to the two boys as they ran pass Kurapika and Leorio. "It's like a game of tag except not. In the game, you have two teams...one of them is ninja and the other is the enemy ninjas. You try to capture them and put them in prison."

"So it's like a game of cops and robbers?" Killua asked, tilting his head at her.

Naru furrowed her eyebrows and nodded her head. She had never heard of that game before but if that was what the boy could connect it to then Naru wasn't going to try to correct him. Maybe when she was done with the exams and if she had time, she would ask Gon to play the game with her. It would be nice if she could have one game before leaving this place especially since she wouldn't have Sakura giving her a look that said she was acting like a child.

Though they were still children but Naru didn't understand why her teammate thought it was stupid of her to play ninja.

It made more sense for her to play ninja then bothering Sasuke with dates and it wasn't like Naru didn't train.

However the training she did leading to the exams and even after the exams wasn't enough for her to bring Sasuke back. No, she needed to go through more vicious training if she wanted to bring Sasuke back home. Yes, she needed to get stronger so she could bring their teammate home and have their life go back to the way it was like it was before.

Sasuke may hate her for bringing him back home but Naru wasn't going to give up on him.

* * *

Six hours passed and Naru still didn't feel one bit exhausted from their run. It might be because she was a ninja or it might be because she had too much chakra but Naru still felt as energetic as she had been when they all left the exam site. She could still feel her sweat clinging her skin but Naru could still run, unlike the other participants, who all showed various signs of being exhausted.

Nodding her head, Naru skipped a couple of the steps and sprinted right pass a couple of her fellow participants, who all were starting to slow down from sheer tiredness of the journey they made. She glanced behind her back and pulled a face when she caught sight of Leorio running up the staires without a shirt on. Why the hell did he took off his shirt? She might be sweating but it wasn't hot enough for her to want to take off her favourite jacket.

"Naru!"

Naru blinked her eyes and smiled widely as Gon and Killua run beside her. Unlike everyone else in the exams, both Gon and Killua looked to be in better shape but Naru could see from the sweat forming on their faces that they could feel the effects from their journey. The black-haired boy gave her a big smile, glancing at her up and down before giving her an even bigger smile.

"When did you become the head of the pack?" Gon asked, smiling. "You must run really fast, Naru."

Naru smiled, rubbed the back of her neck and boasted. "Of course I'm really fast Gon! I'm one of the fastest kids in my village, didn't I tell ya? Not many people can catch up to my speed. I'm just awesome that way Gon."

"Fastest?" Killua asked, tilting his head at her. "I doubt you're that fast."

"Wanna make a bet Cat?"

The silver-haired boy blinked his eyes and crossed his arms. "Cat? Why the hell are you calling me Cat? My name is Killua, not Cat!"

"Really? I forgot who you are," Naru lied, smiling widely at the dumbfounded boy. "You remind me of a cat so I'm going to call you Cat but if you really hate it then I'll call you Kill! So take your pick."

The silver-haired boy's lips twitched at her words while Gon smiled widely at them. She smiled even wider at him before glancing at Killua, who looked torn between throttling her for the nicknames choice she gave him or simply yelling at her for the unfairness. He deserved to get those two for a nickname if you asked her because no one should ever mistake her for a girly girl. Seriously, the only thing girly about her was the fact she had a long hair.

She liked keeping her hair long especially since the Third Hokage told her she looked like her mother when she had her hair long. To honour the mother she never knew, Naru kept her hair long.

"I prefer being called Cat," Killua finally said, crossing his arms. "But if you call me Cat then I'll call you Whiskers!"

Naru shrugged her shoulders. "Alright, I don't care what ya call me since it's just a name."

"What about me, Naru? Are ya going to give me a nickname?" Gon asked, staring wide-eyed at her.

A nickname for Gon? She usually made nicknames for her friends, no matter how rude they could be. Her nickname for Hinata was Hina-chan since Naru used to struggle to pronouce her best-friend's name but Naru stopped calling Hinata that nickname since they graduated. Sakura had always been bubblegum since her hair always reminded her of bubblegums. Ino had always been known to her as bossy since she always tried to boss her around. Shikamaru had been known to her as lazy ass while Choji had always been Choji to her since she could never find a good nickname for him.

Looking at Gon, Naru couldn't find a good nickname for him.

"You're just Gon," Naru finally answered, rubbing the back of her neck. "I can't think of a good nickname for ya Gon...I'm sorry."

Gon slumped his shoulders before giving her a smile. He looked at her up and down, tilted his head before finally saying, "Well I know a good name for ya Naru."

"What?"

"Fox."

Naru blinked her eyes and raised her eyebrows at her friend. "Why a fox?"

"Your whisker marks reminds me of a fox," Gon explained. "And you smell like one too. Do ya have a pet fox?"

He could smell the Kyuubi? If Gon could smell her then didn't that mean Kiba could also smell the fox on her? How on earth could they smell the demon inside her? Did she now need to take a shower every single day to erase his scent? Kami, don't tell her she needed to put on some of those smelly perfumes so that no one could guess she had the Kyuubi inside of her? She hated this.

"He asked you a question," Killua said, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, you could say I have one," Naru said, giving him a smile. "But he's a real piece of work Gon."

" _Did you just imply I'm a pet? Brat, when I get out of here I'm going to make you wish you hadn't said that!"_ The Kyuubi snarled at her. " _I'm the strongest being in this entire universe and you dare compare me to some household pet."_

" _That isn't true if you were a pet then I would want you but I'm stuck with you,"_ Naru snarled at the demon. " _Besides I can't tell people I've a demon inside of my belly? What do you think I am? A complete idiot. Heck, even an idiot has more common sense then to tell the whole world they have a demon inside of them."_

" _I'm not a pet."_

" _Whatever you say oh great Kyuubi."_

" _If you weren't being sarcastic, I'll tell you that you're smart for a human."_

" _If you weren't a pain in the ass, I would call you decent but we can't get what we want."_

"Why aren't you tired? You've been ahead of us for while now but you don't look one bit tired," Killua said, drawing her attention towards him. For once since they started talking, the boy hadn't given her a rude look or said anything that made her want to throttle him. If anything, he looked very curious to know why she wasn't tired. She glanced at Gon, who stared wide-eyed at her, before shrugging her shoulders.

"I got a lot of energy," Naru explained as they skipped another step. "And it takes a really long time for me to get really tired from exercise, which was something my ex-Matron hated since she could never get me to bed on time like the others," that and she was the Kyuubi's brat but Naru hadn't known that until a couple months ago, "And even if I was tired I wouldn't let it bother me because this exam might be the only way I can get stronger."

"Why do ya want to get stronger?" Killua asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "Aren't ya here to become a Hunter?"

Naru shrugged her shoulder. "I could care less about becoming a Hunter but I want to become stronger so I could drag back my best friend home. The only way I can do that is for me to challenge myself and take risks that I never taken before...this exam might be the only way I can get stronger."

"Why do you want to drag him back home?" Killua questioned, tilting his head at her. "Why did he leave your home in the first place?"

Naru stopped smiling and gazed seriously at the boy's blue eyes. "He left home because he's an idiot. He wants to get revenge on the person who killed his family and for him to do that, he thought he needed to go to a bad guy to become stronger. He's my best friend and I don't like the idea of my best friend being hurt...if he stays with the bad guy then he's going to get hurt."

"Revenge?" The boy said, looking faintly amused at her words. "Interesting."

Why did he find it interesting? Naru wondered as the three of them reached the final step on the staircase. Why did he find it funny that her best friend left her for revenge? It wasn't funny at all. It was irritating if you asked her because just when Naru thought she could get along with Sasuke, thought of him as the big brother she never had, the bastard had to do something as stupid as this. Really, what the hell was her teammate thinking of leaving them like this? Knowing the bastard like she did, Sasuke might have believed she would give up on bringing him back home after what he did to her.

Fat chance she would ever give up on him.

* * *

 **A/N: Please tell me what you think about this chapter and the interactions between Naru and Killua. Do you think they were in character or out of character?**


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